


Bow Down the Tallest Tree

by Ideal_Flower



Category: Homeland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 00:39:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13135515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ideal_Flower/pseuds/Ideal_Flower
Summary: Armed with a wood saw and a good knife, Quinn was ready to chop down whatever Christmas tree Franny finally decided on. His feetweregoing a bit numb, however.Advent Calendar: December 23 (belated)





	Bow Down the Tallest Tree

**Bow Down the Tallest Tree**

He could smell the wood smoke. It pumped steadily out of the wood cabin that perched on the river’s edge, a bit worn, but its presence welcome in the cold air. Franny was running a few feet in front of them, her boots crunching in the snow, her hair swirling around her shoulders as she came to a stop to closely inspect a tree.

“How about that one, Honey?” Carrie called from a step behind him.

“Nope!” Franny replied cheerfully. “Not green enough!” She set forward again and Quinn heard Carrie sigh heavily behind them. It had already been an hour. They had driven down the derelict road, sliding a bit on the Jeep’s all-seasons, until they saw the cabin the website had promised, complete with green boughs hung from its doorways, roaring fire inside to keep warm, and a circumspect middle-aged man whom Franny had promptly decided was Santa Claus. The man had chuckled down at her as she stared up at him in wonder, one of her hands squeezing Quinn’s excitedly. 

Armed with a wood saw and a good knife, Quinn was ready to chop down whatever Christmas tree Franny finally decided on. His feet _were_ going a bit numb, however. He paused a second to wait for Carrie to catch up. She huffed a cloud of cold air as she trudged up the hill behind him, one hand on her hip, the other loosening the scarf around her neck. “Fuck, it’s hot out!” she complained. “Aren’t you warm? I’m _boiling_ -“ 

“ _Carrie_ ,” he said, only slightly reprimanding. 

She rolled her eyes upward, her shoulders slumping forward a bit. “Fine,” she sighed, her hands tugging her coat’s zipper up and around her body. “But I’m not putting this back on.” She thrust her discarded scarf at him in jest, but took the elbow he held out - offering to keep her steady as they tromped through the soft snow behind an excited Franny. Quinn wrapped her scarf around his own neck, trying to keep the wind off the backs of his ears.

“Sure you don’t need a rest?” he asked Carrie, bringing her body as close to his as possible, using his free hand to settle on the front of her jacket. He saw the quirk of her eyebrows move in his direction, annoyance, but also amusement. 

“Are you sure _you_ don’t need a rest?” she retorted, but her lips turned up and she gave a short laugh. 

“This one!” Franny called from one row over. “This one! Quinn!” 

Quinn tore his eyes off where Carrie’s were still crinkled in a smile. Franny was running around a tall balsam fir, pointing to it, as if they would mistake her excitement for any other tree. 

“Are you sure?” Carrie asked, and Quinn felt a surge of exasperation. The novelty was starting to wear off, the sun starting to wane behind the darkening clouds, and his concern for Carrie’s condition in the cold, damp air was starting to sink in. But luckily Franny chorused a series of affirmatives, and he pulled the saw from his arm. 

“Take your mom’s hand,” he said to Franny, lightly guiding her back to Carrie’s outstretched arm, trying to ensure they were both far away from a toppling tree. “Take care of her.” 

Franny grasped one of Carrie’s hands with both of her own, taking her task seriously. “I’ll take care of _both_ of them,” she replied, looking much more stern than a 7-year-old had any business being. Quinn felt his throat tighten with emotion that was still sometimes foreign, and he managed a smile to hide what he could only imagine was joy, his heart light with it, his head and his shoulders pounding strongly. 

He shook some of the soft snow off the tree’s closest branch, sizing up the trunk for a second before he glanced back at them. They both smiled encouragingly at him, Carrie dropping a hand to support her growing belly, and Franny beaming proudly at her own tree choice. 

It took a couple of good strokes with the saw before the tree went down easily, cut cleanly at the base. Quinn pulled himself from the ground, kneeling on the snow to cut off some of the lower branches. He glanced over at where Franny was watching eagerly, held back by one of Carrie’s grounding hands. He folded his knife back up. 

“Ready to help carry it?” he asked her.

“Yes!”

“Grab the top.” 

Carrie’s hand eased and Franny ran forward, taking the light end - where the tree top provided an easy grip for small fingers. Quinn got to his feet, waiting for Franny before he took the base, feeling the weight of nearly the entire tree as they set forward back down the hill. They went slowly - both for Carrie, and for the bulk of the tree. The cabin at the end of the line was still pumping out smoke, and Franny was chattering about the hot chocolate and cookies that the Santa Claus doppleganger had promised her earlier. 

Carrie glanced back at him, almost to check and see that he was still there, despite the weight of the tree in his hand. She smiled wide, her cheeks flushed, her hair ruffling from the wind, and he was glad to note that she had put her hat back on, the soft grey wool covering her head. Her palm went to the base of her belly again, to support the weight, or maybe it was that as their gaze connected, she remembered that it was there. 

The sun broke through the clouds and a lone ray of light hit them, sending sparkles through the newly cut tree and setting Franny’s strawberry hair alight. A few stray flurries circled lazily, and Quinn knew that even when the time came that they would be four - and no longer three - Franny would insist they cut a tree every year.

**Author's Note:**

> 


End file.
